Thai prime minister cancels meeting with Vatican ambassador amid outbreak of protests in Bangkok

The Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayuth Chan Ocha, has canceled a meeting with the Vatican ambassador to the country, Archbishop Paul Tschang In-Nam, due to the demonstrations held this Tuesday near the Government House, in Bangkok, to demand his resignation.

Police have warned protesters that security officers will use rubber bullets and water cannons to control the protests if necessary, while noting that they will arrest those who incite violence, as reported by ‘The Nation’.

The Labor Network for People’s Rights has called the protests in front of the historic Chamai Maruchet Bridge in Bangkok to demand the prime minister’s decision due to the eight-year term limit defined in the Constitution this week.

The Pheu Thai party and five other opposition MPs delivered last week to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai a brief arguing that Prayuth’s term was ending this Wednesday, when those eight years are up, and not in 2024 as alleged by the Thai government.

According to Phheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew, the prime minister was officially appointed on August 24, 2014, three months after the military coup he led against the government of Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan.

If the Constitutional rules that Prayuth cannot remain in office, as he has completed his eight-year term, he could remain on an interim basis if Parliament does not agree on a replacement until new elections are called, with no date yet, although they are expected to be announced in March 2023.